Dutch MS Research Foundation Terms and conditions for scientific research grants Global MS Research Booster Award, version 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page A. GENERAL 3 A1. Conditions for Dutch MS Research Foundation grants 3 A2. Directives for applicants 4 A2.1 What to apply for 4 A2.2 To draft a grant application 4 A3. Experimental animals and experimental subjects 4 A4. Start of the project and personnel 5 A4.1 Start of the project 5 A4.2 Modifications during the project 5 A5. Fundraising and/or education 5 A6. Publicity and intellectual property 5 A6.1 Publication 5 A6.2 Publicity 6 A6.3 IP agreements 6 A7. Reporting 6 A7.1 Annual scientific reports 6 A7.2 Financial justification 7 A8. General remarks 7 B. Funding of scientific research by the Dutch MS Research Foundation 7 B1. Fundable costs 7 B1.1 General 7 B1.2 Personnel costs 8 B1.3 Research costs 8 B1.4 Travel expenses 8 B2. Terms of payment 9 B2.1 Planning of payments 9 B2.2 Suspension of payments 9 B2.3 Financial settlement and final payment 9 Attachment 1. Schematic overview procedure of granting and reporting 10 2
A. GENERAL A.1 Conditions for Dutch MS Research Foundation Grants The Dutch MS Research Foundation (Stichting MS Research) aims to support scientific research projects that meet the highest quality requirements. The Foundation supports Global MS Research Booster Award projects with a duration of 2 years maximum. Both the duration of the project and the country in which the research is carried out determine the amount of the grant. The maximal support entails 180.000,- for 2 years. The Global MS Research Award is the result of a collaboration between MoveS (Stichting Klimmen tegen MS), MS International Federation (MSIF) and the Dutch MS Research Foundation and is facilitated by the financial support of MoveS. If MoveS chooses to refrain from the financial support for a assessed and/or granted project due to circumstances or decision-making, the grant is completely or partially cancelled. In this scenario the Dutch MS Research Foundation or MSIF are not responsible for any financial losses. Applications ought to be submitted prior to the start of the research project applied for. Individual scientists worldwide can apply for a Global MS Research Booster Award. Only excellent post-doctoral scientists who are considered top-ranked within their field of research are eligible for the award. If the applicant itself is not an expert on multiple sclerosis (MS), he/she is required to collaborate with an established academic MS center. In general, the expertise of the applicant should be of additional value to the international field of MS research. Collaboration with one of the four Dutch Academic MS Centers 1 is obligatory. A senior scientist employed at one of these centers is actively involved in the scientific content of the project and must be a co-applicant. Collaboration can for example consist of sharing expertise and/or materials, a work visit of the applicant and/or part of the project being carried out by the collaborator. The research project can be carried out at research institutes in The Netherlands or abroad. It is not obligatory that part of the research project takes place in the Netherlands. The grant covers the direct costs of the research project applied for, generally this implies salary costs of the applicant and costs for research materials. 1 Dutch MS Centers: VUmc MS Center Amsterdam, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam ErasMS MS Center Rotterdam, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam MS Center Northern-Netherlands, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen Dutch MS Brain Bank, Dutch Brain Bank, Amsterdam The Dutch MS Research Foundation does not act as an employer with respect to the award. The host institution must issue a contract of employment for the applicant in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations. Any compensation for travel expenses is directly transferred to applicant. The Foundation is obligated to and will report the payment of travel expenses to the Dutch tax authorities. It is the responsibility of the applicant to report these costs in accordance with the rules and regulations of the local tax department. The applicant (project leader) is the first point of call regarding the project and carries the full scientific responsibility for the project. If additional or other financial support is requested and/or granted for (parts of) the project, the 3
project leader will immediately inform the Dutch MS Research Foundation. Subsequently, the Foundation will, in agreement with the other financers, determine the funding of the project. The Dutch MS Research Foundation does not co-fund projects with charities that lack the CBF quality mark or national equivalent of this charity quality mark. The Foundation is entitled to reconsider co-funding with another financers at all times. Project leaders and other persons involved in the execution of the project, are not allowed to accept and/or raise funds for Dutch charities lacking the CBF quality mark that employ activities within the field of MS research or adjacent fields. In case of uncertainty, one should in advance contact the general manager of the Dutch MS Research Foundation. The Foundation designates a project number to each application. All correspondence regarding granted projects should entail this identifier. The Dutch MS Research Foundation is permitted to investigate, or give authority to investigate, the spending of the payed funding at the receiving institute. A2. Directives for applicants A2.1 What to apply for Global MS Research Booster Award candidates can apply for a research grant of 2 years maximum. The research can be carried out at an acknowledged research institute outside the Netherlands, at one of the Dutch MS Centers or a combination of both. The host institute must issue a contract of employment for the applicant at the appropriate level and on the same terms as the average postdoctoral scientist employed by the institute. Projects can only be performed at a public organization recognized as scientific research institute. The award provides (partial) compensation for the following costs; personnel costs, research costs and travel expenses. The maximal amount granted for research projects at a research institute in the Netherlands is 140.000,- for 2 years. The maximal amount granted for research projects outside the Netherlands is determined based on the actual costs with a maximum of 180.000,- for 2 years. A.2.2 To draft a grant application The application comprises the following elements; a research proposal; the CV of the applicant, a list of publications of the applicant, a letter of recommendation and a letter of the host institute. The designated application form is available on the website of the Dutch MS Research Foundation. https://msresearch.nl/global-ms-research-booster-award A3. Experimental animals and human subjects The host institution must ensure that the appropriate premises and equipment are available to enable the execution of the research under safe and reliable conditions. It is the responsibility of the host institute to ensure that all (legally) required licenses and permits are obtained. In particular those concerning the use of human subjects and/or experimental animals in research. If applicable to (part of) the project, one must obtain approval of the medical ethical reviewing committee and/or animal ethics committee. The project leader must provide a copy of the relevant ethical committee approval(s) to the Dutch MS Research Foundation prior to the start of the project. If one cannot comply to the above mentioned terms, the granted award will be cancelled. The Dutch MS Research Foundation aims to reduce the use of experimental animals to a minimum. Applicants are requested to justify the use of experimental animals using the addendum of the application form. They must explain the necessity of using experimental animals and substantiate the selected animal model and experimental setup. The Scientific Advisory Board of the Dutch MS 4
Research Foundation will evaluate if the 3Rs (replacement, refinement and reduction) are met and decide if the use of experimental animals is justified. At the request of the Foundation, the grant holder will provide a public summary explaining both the experimental setup of the project and the scientific and social relevance of the research. The grant holder indemnifies The Dutch MS Research Foundation of any liability for damage, injuries or other negative consequences caused by activities and/or accomplishments (including publications) related to the funded research. The Foundation assumes that the applicant takes care that the host institute has taken out the appropriate insurance policies. A4. Start of the project and personnel A4.1 Start of the project Research projects funded by Dutch MS Research Foundation should start at latest 6 months after the award is granted, counting from the date of the letter of approval. In case it appears to be impossible to start within 6 months, the project leader must submit a written request for delay before this deadline has passed. This request should entail the reason for the delay and explain why the research is still relevant and up-to-date. The award is cancelled if the project has not started within 24 months after granting. A4.2 Modifications during the project Intermissions and/or delays during the project must be reported directly and in written to the Dutch MS Research Foundation. If the period of interval exceeds 12 months, the project leader must submit an official request to resume the project. This request should entail the reason for the intermission and explain why the research is still relevant and up-to-date. The award is stopped and the remaining funds are cancelled if the period of interval exceeds 24 months. A5. Fundraising and/or education The grant holder is assumed to participate when needed to fundraising and/or education activities of the Dutch MS Research Foundation. He/she is responsible to provide a public summary annually. The Foundation can use this summary for her website and possible other (educational) publications. The grant holder is also expected to participate in local and/or (inter-)national activities when invited. A6. Publicity and intellectual property A6.1 Publication The financial support of the Dutch MS Research Foundation is acknowledged in both scientific publications and other publications regarding the project, including websites that contain information on the project. One can refer to the Dutch MS Research Foundation by depicting its name and/or logo. The Foundation will receive an electronic pdf-file of each publication, files can be send to onderzoek@msresearch.nl. Scientific publications can be considered to be the result of a research project if the grant covers the salary costs of at least one person that is a co-author and the financial support of the Dutch MS Research Foundation is stated in the publication. In exceptional cases, it is possible to designate the contribution of a technician employed by the grant in the acknowledgements section. It is obligatory to present the logo and/or name of the Dutch MS Research Foundation during oral or poster presentations during scientific meetings. The Foundation logo can be obtained via the research 5
coordinator (onderzoek@msresearch.nl). A6.2 Publicity It is essential to always inform the Dutch MS Research Foundation about publicity regarding granted awards, independent whether the publicity originates from individual researchers or the institute(s) involved. With regard to any kind of publicity towards a non-scientific public (including press-reports and educational meetings), the project leader must contact the Foundation in advance to allow harmonization of the contents. MoveS and the Dutch MS Research Foundation are acknowledged in each expression of publicity. A6.3 IP agreements The Dutch MS Research Foundation is informed in written about (possible) patent applications resulting from research projects that are (co-)funded by the Foundation. In case the project leader lacks to report patent applications, the Foundation can cancel (part of) the award. The grant holder/ host institute guarantees that the Foundation will receive a fair share of any income or (commercial) products or services that are the direct or indirect result of (co-)funded research projects. If the Foundation indeed receives a fair share of income and/or products, she will notify MoveS. Subsequently, the project leader, host institute, The Dutch MS Research Foundation and Moves will gather to obtain consensus on how to allocate the Foundation s share of the income and/or products. A7. Reporting The project leader will notify the Foundation about the start date of the project via the designated form. After receiving the start form, the Foundation will send the project leader a letter containing the schedule of payments and reporting dates. The project leader carries the responsibility to inform the Foundation annually about the progress and results of the project. A 2-year Global MS Research Booster Award entails two written reports; the midterm report, to be submitted 9 months after the start of the project, and the final report, to be submitted within 6 months after the end date of the project. Both reports consist of a scientific report and a financial justification. If the final scientific report and financial justification are not received within the above mentioned time frames, the Foundation will cancel the payment of the remaining funding. Granting of the second year of the award depends on the evaluation of the midterm report. The final payment, consisting of the last three months of the grant, will be transferred after the Foundation has received and approved the final report. A schematic overview of the procedure of granting and reporting is depicted in attachment 1. A negative evaluation of the midterm or final reports can result in holding or cancelling (part of) the granted award, when this negative evaluation is caused by culpable negligence or imputable acts of the grant holder. A7.1 Annual scientific reports The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Dutch MS Research Foundation evaluates the progress and results of the project based on the scientific midterm and final reports. A member of MSIF s International Scientific and Medical Board (IMSB) will join in the selection process. When appropriate, the IMSB member can also participate in the evaluation of the annual scientific reports. Scientific reports are written in English and must contain sufficient information to be read without the original application. The designated reporting forms are made available to grant holders. Scientific publications resulting from the project are send along with the report form as separate pdf-files. 6
A7.2 Financial justification Financial justifications of funded projects are assessed by the research office of the Foundation. The Foundation has a protocol depicted in the form Financial justification for research grants. One should note that this protocol is part of these terms and conditions. The justification should demonstrate the actual appointment of the candidate, full-time equivalent (fte) and period. The received award is explicitly granted to finance the project as described in the approved award application. For this reason it is important to request the Foundation s consent for any changes in personnel and/or budget that might occur during the project. The Foundation is entitled to cancel or reclaim (part of) the award when the total of all funding exceeds the actual costs of the project. A8. General remarks The Dutch MS Research Foundation is entitled to hold or cancel granted awards, if one does not adhere to the terms and conditions depicted in this document. In this exceptional situation, the Foundation will notify both the project leader and the director of the institute and explain its decision to hold or cancel the funding in written. A decision to hold or cancel an award will result in withdrawing the remaining payments and/or reclaiming (part of) the funding payed. It is possible to protest against such decision within 14 working days after the announcement via a written notice of objection. B. FUNDING OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BY THE DUTCH MS RESEARCH FOUNDATION The Dutch MS Research Foundation follows the guidelines finance scientific research of the collaborating public research institutes in the Netherlands. (Dutch: Akkoord bekostiging wetenschappelijk onderzoek 2008 NWO, VSNU, KNAW, ZonMw, NFU - http://www.nwo.nl/documents/nwo/salaristabellen/akkoord-bekostiging-wetenschappelijk-onderzoek- 2008) The Dutch MS Research Foundation adheres to the above mentioned guidelines regarding the compensation for the personnel costs of researchers employed at institutes in The Netherlands. The Foundation will cover the personnel costs of researchers employed at institutes outside The Netherlands proportional to the national standard salaries for scientific personnel. The Foundation expects the host institute to issue a contract of employment for the applicant at the appropriate level and on the same terms as the average postdoctoral scientist employed by the institute. B1. Fundable costs B1.1 General Grants of the Dutch MS Research Foundation cover the direct costs of the research project applied for. The Foundation only compensates costs that cannot be financed by university- or institute budgets. The Global MS Booster Award provides (partial) compensation for the following costs; personnel costs, research costs and if applicable travel expenses. Foundation granting should not result in a reduction of other money flows of the department or institute. Grants never cover the full costs of a research project. This implies that the host institute is responsible and committed to provide a financial contribution to the designated research. The Dutch MS Research Foundation does not compensate the following expenses: Indirect personnel costs, including costs for supervision of the project and overhead costs (central,- faculty- and/or department level). Costs related to the premises and infrastructure, including purchase and maintenance of general laboratory equipment. 7
Other housing costs Reporting-, secretarial- and office costs Terms and conditions Global Booster Award_version 2017-2 When the actual costs of the project (personnel- and research costs) exceed the total grant amount, it is the responsibility of the host institute to cover the remaining costs. B1.2 Personnel costs The Dutch MS Research Foundation does not act as an employer with respect to the award. The host institution must issue a contract of employment for the applicant at the appropriate level and on the same terms as the average postdoctoral scientist employed by the institute. The compensation for personnel costs is based on the project duration and appointment of the candidate and entails: A basic salary An addition for employer contributions An addition for other personnel costs including social security contributions The most recent version of the table compensation for personnel costs is accessible on the Foundation website: http://msresearch.nl/richtlijnen-voor-rapportages. The compensations depicted in this table are only applicable to researchers employed at institutes in The Netherlands. For employment at institutes outside The Netherlands, one should apply for personnel costs that are proportional to the national standard. The Foundation will establish the definite compensation for personnel costs when an award is granted. Once established the personnel costs are applicable to the complete period of the project, no adjustments are made during the project. All adjustments with regard to personnel employed by the award must be reported promptly to the Dutch MS Research Foundation. B1.3 Research costs The award (partially) covers research costs, including material costs and expenses related to humans subject studies, to a maximum of 10.000,- per year per 1.0 fte. It is not possible to obtain additional funding for research costs during the project. It is the responsibility of the project leader to ensure the best use of the available funding. If this implies a shift between personnel- and research costs, the Foundation will generally allow this. Presupposing that the project leader has requested the Foundation s permission for the budget change. B1.4 Travel expenses Candidates can only claim travel expenses if the project is (partially) performed at a research institute located in a country different from the country of current residence. Travel expenses are covered one time and transferred to the bank account of the candidate prior to the start of the project. The compensation for travel expenses is based on the direct distance between the departure location and the host institute. Distance (km) Compensation (euro) < 500 250 500 1.000 500 1.000 1.500 750 1.500 2.500 1.000 > 2.500 1.500 8
B2. Terms of payment B2.1 Planning of payments Payment of the award occurs in first instance in the form of equal cash advances once every three months. The size of each advance is dependent on the total grant amount and project duration. The first payment is transferred within 3 months after the official start of the project. The Dutch MS Research Foundation does not fund periods prior to the start date of the project. If the start project form is received after the depicted start date of the project, the Foundation will assume that the project starts on the receiving date of the form. Compensation for travel expenses is transferred directly to the candidate, prior to the start of the project. The remaining funding (personnel and research costs) is transferred in advances to the host institute. B2.2 Suspension of payments The Foundation will suspend the payments of the award, if the candidate stops working on the research project or temporarily interrupts his/her work (for example due to maternity leave or illness). In case the interruption exceeds 12 months, the project leader is obliged to request the Foundation s permission to resume the project. B2.3 Financial settlement and final payment The final grant amount is established based on the final financial justification provided by the host institute (see paragraph 7.2). The final justification must be received within 6 months after the end date of the project. The payment of the remaining grant, the final payment, will occur in the first quarter after approval of the financial justification and final scientific report. 9
ATTACHMENT 1 Schematic overview of the procedure of granting and reporting 10